| STATE OF CHANGE by Christopher Bulis |
| Story ? Synopsis: The Doctor takes Peri to witness Cleopatra sailing up the Nile. She wants to see more of the Roman world, so the Doctor agrees. But their journey is interrupted by outside forces, and they land in a drastically-altered Rome. Cleopatra plots against her brother Alexander, and vice-versa, whilst both despite half-brother Ptolemy. The TARDIS has landed in the tomb of the old Cleopatra, but when the Doctor and Peri emerge, they find themselves physically changing. He builds a morphic resonator to prevent him retro-regenerating, but Peri slowly turns into a bird. He ventures into Rome, meeting a chap who fills him on the recent changes, which centre on the Oracle of Alexandria. The Doctor sneaks into the Temple of the Oracle, where he finds that it's a replica of his TARDIS console. But he is found and narrowly escapes death, becoming instead Alexander's Champion - for a fight in a couple of days' time. Peri drives off a gang of tomb robbers, and finds the nuclear power source, disguised as Cleopatra's coffin. She rescues Ptolemy from assassination, bringing him to the TARDIS to recover. He explains how he journeyed to the East, finding the edge of the world. It drove him to withdraw from public life, allowing Alexander and Cleopatra to take power. Peri encourages him to reassert his control, buying influence and re-establishing links with his old friends and army followers. The Doctor gets a visit from Cleopatra when she arrives in Rome, and is aghast to see she is The Rani in disguise. She found a creature that copied the TARDIS, but also the section of the world it was in at the time, creating the world around them. The Rani plans to rule the world. During his big fight with Cleopatra's champion, the Doctor manages to win, and then acknowledges Ptolemy's support. Alexander tries to claim the divine right to be Emperor, but during a test of strength involving wolves, Ptolemy comes out on top. The Rani then tries to take over, but the opposition to her cements quickly. She kidnaps Ptolemy. The Doctor returns to the TARDIS, landing near the Rani's base, meeting the creature behind the world. He explains how to make it into a whole world. When he breaks the Rani's connection to Cleopatra, commotion breaks out. Peri saves Ptolemy, but as the new world is formed, finds herself flightless. The TARDIS saves them both, and Ptolemy emerges to acclaim. The rescued Cleopatra seems less power-crazed than before. The Doctor and Peri leave quietly, trusting Ptolemy to lead his people into a new future, on Terra Nova. |
| Review:- A classical interlude, but in a decidedly modern ancient world... The idea of parallel worlds is nothing new, and the usage of Rome here accords with one of the most popular periods used in semi-historical fiction. Taking the Battle of Actium as Point Zero, Bulis fashions a world where modern advances have changed the world for the worse, as knowledge outstrips understanding, and the world is torn between two mighty empires... On top of this, the Doctor and Peri find themselves at risk of going native, changing into strange variations of themselves. Peri's avian recreation is rather disturbing, whereas the Doctor seems almost to treat it as water off a Time Lord's back. But it's the power games that drive the story, with Alexander dominant in Rome, and Cleopatra waiting in the wings in Egypt. Between them sits Ptolemy, whose great secret has been ignored, and who cannot cope with the world as a consequence. The story takes a while to get going, but once Peri rescues Ptolemy, things start to happen. There is some talk about the threat of atomic weapons, and with the whole two power blocs scenario, it's not heard to draw a parallel with the Cold War, especially when the Eastern power keeps out of the way for much of the book. Cleverly, though, rather than tip things towards a countdown to explosion, the nuclear bomb provides a ready source of energy to repower the TARDIS instead. Once the Doctor learns that the mysterious Oracle is the cause of the divergence, and finds it to be a copy of his TARDIS console, then the pieces begin to fall into place. His short fight to win over Alexander puts him out of action for a good chunk of the story, which seems to be long chats over TV link. Well, it justifies Peri's transformation, which Bulis cleverly makes good use of, from her rescue of the Doctor, to her flights at the end. Alexander is a typical immature bully, and is no real match for his sister or half-brother. Cleopatra, or rather the Rani, makes for a cooler, more calculating customer, who seems to have more aces up her sleeves to cope with the way the cards are dealt. Ptolemy is the typical good bloke who just needs a nudge to bring him back into power. His publicity campaign is probably a reference to the way American elections make a big fuss over people to win support, although the book shows that such grandstanding is really nothing new. The Doctor's fight allows for a bit of gladiatorial rough & tumble, predating The Stone Rose by several years, and with rather more credibility. The use of superior wisdom and foresight to interfere seems to be allowed here because this isn't the real Earth anyway. Some trick. Once Ptolemy has the upper hand, it's just a matter of a brief rumble with the Rani, but the Doctor is already ahead of the game when he meets the power behind the throne, the charming Iam. It's a fun solution to merely let Iam build a complete world, to allow the people on it a proper life. Amidst all this are smaller, human moments, such as the understandably silly tomb-robbers, and the broken but loyal Agricola. Overall, a book with a wide scope, and a straightforward tale to tell. Once it gets going, it delivers. |
| Disclaimer: I have a copy of the book. |